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90_SB0654
40 ILCS 5/7-171 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-171
40 ILCS 5/7-199.3 new
30 ILCS 805/8.21 new
Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Article of
the Pension Code to provide a program of group health
insurance for retired employees of participating educational
employers and their spouses. Requires both active
educational employees and their employers to contribute 0.5%
of earnings toward the costs of the program. Amends the
State Mandates Act to require implementation without
reimbursement. Effective immediately.
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1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Pension Code and the State
2 Mandates Act.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
6 changing Section 7-171 and adding Section 7-199.3 as follows:
7 (40 ILCS 5/7-171) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-171)
8 Sec. 7-171. Finance; taxes.
9 (a) Each municipality other than a school district shall
10 appropriate an amount sufficient to provide for the current
11 municipality contributions required by Sections Section 7-172
12 and 7-199.3 of this Article for the fiscal year for which
13 the appropriation is made and all amounts due for municipal
14 contributions for previous years. A municipality that has
15 Those municipalities which have been assessed an annual
16 amount to amortize its unfunded obligation, as provided in
17 subparagraph 5 of paragraph (a) of Section 7-172 of this
18 Article, shall include in the appropriation an amount
19 sufficient to pay the amount assessed. The appropriation
20 shall be based upon an estimate of assets available for
21 municipality contributions and liabilities therefor for the
22 fiscal year for which appropriations are to be made,
23 including funds available from levies for this purpose in
24 prior years.
25 (b) For the purpose of providing monies for municipality
26 contributions, beginning for the year in which a municipality
27 is included in this fund:
28 (1) A municipality other than a school district may
29 levy a tax which shall not exceed the amount appropriated
30 for municipality contributions.
31 (2) A school district may levy a tax in an amount
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1 reasonably calculated at the time of the levy to provide
2 for the municipality contributions required under
3 Sections Section 7-172 and 7-199.3 of this Article for
4 the fiscal years for which revenues from the levy will be
5 received and all amounts due for municipal contributions
6 for previous years. Any levy adopted before the
7 effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995 by a school
8 district shall be considered valid and authorized to the
9 extent that the amount was reasonably calculated at the
10 time of the levy to provide for the municipality
11 contributions required under Section 7-172 for the fiscal
12 years for which revenues from the levy will be received
13 and all amounts due for municipal contributions for
14 previous years. In no event shall a budget adopted by a
15 school district limit a levy of that school district
16 adopted under this Section.
17 (c) Any county which is a part of an educational service
18 region comprised of two or more counties formed under Section
19 3A of the School Code may include in its appropriation an
20 amount sufficient to provide its proportionate share of the
21 municipality contributions of the region. The tax levy
22 authorized by this Section may include an amount necessary to
23 provide monies for this contribution.
24 (d) Any county that is a part of a multiple-county
25 health department or consolidated health department which is
26 formed under "An Act in relation to the establishment and
27 maintenance of county and multiple-county public health
28 departments", approved July 9, 1943, as amended, and which is
29 a participating instrumentality may include in the county's
30 appropriation an amount sufficient to provide its
31 proportionate share of municipality contributions of the
32 department. The tax levy authorized by this Section may
33 include the amount necessary to provide monies for this
34 contribution.
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1 (e) Such tax shall be levied and collected in like
2 manner, with the general taxes of the municipality and shall
3 be in addition to all other taxes which the municipality is
4 now or may hereafter be authorized to levy upon all taxable
5 property therein, and shall be exclusive of and in addition
6 to the amount of tax levied for general purposes under
7 Section 8-3-1 of the "Illinois Municipal Code", approved May
8 29, 1961, as amended, or under any other law or laws which
9 may limit the amount of tax which the municipality may levy
10 for general purposes. The tax may be levied by the governing
11 body of the municipality without being authorized as being
12 additional to all other taxes by a vote of the people of the
13 municipality.
14 (f) The county clerk of the county in which any such
15 municipality is located, in reducing tax levies shall not
16 consider any such tax as a part of the general tax levy for
17 municipality purposes, and shall not include the same in the
18 limitation of any other tax rate which may be extended.
19 (g) The amount of the tax to be levied in any year
20 shall, within the limits herein prescribed, be determined by
21 the governing body of the respective municipality.
22 (h) The revenue derived from any such tax levy shall be
23 used only for the purposes specified in this Article, and, as
24 collected, shall be paid to the treasurer of the municipality
25 levying the tax. Monies received by a county treasurer for
26 use in making contributions to a consolidated educational
27 service region for its municipality contributions shall be
28 held by him for that purpose and paid to the region in the
29 same manner as other monies appropriated for the expense of
30 the region.
31 (Source: P.A. 89-329, eff. 8-17-95.)
32 (40 ILCS 5/7-199.3 new)
33 Sec. 7-199.3. To administer a program of group health
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1 benefits for retired educational employees and their spouses.
2 (a) For the purposes of this Section:
3 "Educational employer" means a school district or other
4 employer created under or governed by the School Code having
5 employees who participate in the Fund by reason of that
6 employment.
7 "Active educational employee" means an employee of an
8 educational employer who is an active participant in the
9 Fund.
10 "Retired educational employee" means a person who is
11 receiving a retirement annuity from the Fund based on at
12 least 5 years of service as an employee of an educational
13 employer.
14 (b) The Board shall establish and administer a program
15 of group health benefits for retired educational employees
16 and their spouses or surviving spouses. The program may be
17 self-funded or operated under a policy of group accident and
18 health insurance. In either case, the program shall be
19 entirely independent of the other functions and assets of the
20 Fund, and the assets and liabilities arising out of the
21 operation of the program shall remain separate from the other
22 assets and liabilities of the Fund.
23 The Board may adopt any rules that may be necessary or
24 convenient relating to the establishment and administration
25 of the program or to the conditions and terms of
26 participation in the program.
27 (c) All retired educational employees are eligible to
28 participate in the program established under this Section.
29 (d) Moneys received by the Board relating to the program
30 established under this Section shall not be deemed
31 contributions to or assets of the Fund. All such moneys
32 shall be held by the Board in a separate account and used
33 only for the purposes of the program established under this
34 Section.
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1 (e) The Fund shall pay from the separate account a
2 portion of the cost of participation for each retired
3 educational employee who elects to participate in the
4 program, not to exceed the following percentages of the cost
5 of the retired educational employee's participation (not
6 including any dependent or optional coverages):
7 (1) For persons who have contributed to the program
8 for less than 48 months, 0%.
9 (2) For persons who have contributed to the program
10 for at least 48 months but less than 96 months, 25%.
11 (3) For persons who have contributed to the program
12 for at least 96 months but less than 144 months, 50%.
13 (4) For persons who have contributed to the program
14 for at least 144 months but less than 192 months, 75%.
15 (5) For persons who have contributed to the program
16 for at least 192 months, 100%.
17 (f) The balance of the cost of participation in the
18 program for a retired educational employee who elects to
19 participate, together with the entire cost of any optional
20 coverage or coverage for dependent beneficiaries, shall be
21 paid by deductions authorized by the participant to be
22 withheld from his or her monthly annuity payment, except that
23 any amount by which the monthly premium balance exceeds the
24 net amount of the monthly annuity payment shall be paid
25 directly to the Fund by the participant. All amounts so
26 withheld or paid shall be held in trust for the purposes of
27 paying the costs of the program.
28 (g) Beginning July 1, 1997, all active educational
29 employees shall contribute 0.5% of earnings toward the cost
30 of the program established under this Section. These
31 contributions shall be deducted by the employer and paid to
32 the Fund for deposit into the separate account established
33 under this Section. The Fund may use the same processes for
34 collecting the contributions required by this subsection that
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1 it uses to collect contributions from employees under Section
2 7-173. An educational employer may agree to pick up or pay
3 the contributions required under this subsection on behalf of
4 the employee. Contributions made under this Section are not
5 transferable to other pension funds or retirement systems and
6 are not refundable upon termination of service.
7 (h) Beginning July 1, 1997, every educational employer
8 shall contribute toward the cost of the program established
9 under this Section an amount equal to 0.5% of the earnings of
10 its active educational employees. These contributions shall
11 be paid by the employer to the Fund for deposit into the
12 separate account established under this Section. The Fund
13 may use the same processes for collecting the contributions
14 required by this subsection that it uses to collect
15 contributions from employers under Sections 7-172 and
16 7-172.1. Contributions for the program established under
17 this Section are separate from the contributions to the Fund
18 required under Section 7-172 and shall not be included in the
19 calculation of the contribution rate under that Section.
20 (i) The Board shall submit an annual report of its
21 activities under this Section to each educational employer
22 participating in the program administered under this Section.
23 (j) The group accident and health insurance program
24 established under this Section is not and shall not be
25 construed to be a pension or retirement benefit for purposes
26 of Section 5 of Article XIII of the Illinois Constitution.
27 Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
28 Section 8.21 as follows:
29 (30 ILCS 805/8.21 new)
30 Sec. 8.21. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6
31 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required
32 for the implementation of any mandate created by this
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1 amendatory Act of 1997.
2 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3 becoming law.